Murder in My Heart and Eyes
by HerexForxYourxEntertainment
Summary: Valek's response to Yelena's story in Brazelle's dungeon during Poison Study. Valek's POV, One-Shot, End is really fluffy


Murder in My Heart and Eyes

Valek's POV

"When I was just six, Mogkan found me on the streets. He promised me that he would keep me safe and he brought me to Brazelle's 'orphanage,' only now I know it was just a ploy to gain power," Yelena explained after I had asked for her life story. She still felt betrayed by Brazelle; I could hear it in her voice.

"When I got there, it was like a dream come true. There was a bed, friends, hot food, and learning. Even before I was able to flip, I loved to learn. I loved reading and writing," a note of longing entered her voice as she recalled this. I promised myself that I would find a way to help her learn. I would teach her espionage, if that was all I could teach her.

"I met May and Cara a few days later. They became my sisters. I would make sure they were clean and well-groomed for Brazelle's feasts. I would fix Cara braid almost every day," I knew that Yelena was on the verge of sobbing, and for that, Mogkan _would_ suffer. I would rip out his intestines before I took his life, for what he did to the children in circles, for what he did to Cara, and most of all, for what he did to my beautiful Yelena! _No,_ I condescended myself,_ she is not yours; she is her own person and cannot know of your affection._ I prompted her to continue.

"Everything went wonderfully until my sixteenth birthday. Brazelle and Reyad approached me and asked for my help with some experiments. They said I was the brightest of their students, and that I would be a great help. I still can't believe that I was stupid enough to fall for it. I can't believe I was that vain to believe them. So stupid!" She was chastising herself for enjoying appreciation. I wanted to remove the self-loathing from her voice, but I couldn't think of a single suitable thing to say, so I simply waited for her to continue.

"At first, the test were easy and harmless, like hitting a target with a ball or jumping a hurtle. Then the tests started to get more dangerous. I would dodge a knife or fight a guard. I didn't fail those either. I was so proud of myself, and so happy to be participating in the 'experiments.' I was so naïve!" I hated myself for interrupting the flow of her story, but I had to reassure her that the past was the past, and that she was no longer naïve.

"The present is all that matters. If you are no longer naïve, it doesn't matter," I tried to comfort her with the knowledge that I posed, even if only for a moment.

When she started again, her voice seemed stronger. "Eventually, I started to understand what was happening, but by then, it was too late. I couldn't escape from Brazelle and Reyad's grasp. You have no idea what they did to me! They set my hair on fire; they whipped me when I failed their tests. You wanted to know what I wanted to be before I murdered Reyad, I wanted to be an acrobat. One night, Reyad came home early from a hunting trip and found me practicing acrobatics. He was furious that I had disobeyed his orders and he punished me. For the five nights of the Fire Festival, I was to report to him in the evening. Every night, he would strip me; he would put a metal collar around my neck and hang chains from it. He secured them to manacles on my wrists and ankles, and he made perform acrobatics of his own devising." It was no wonder that she hated manacles and chains now. Oh, what I would have done to that son of a bitch if I had gotten my hands on him. He would beg for what he had done to the splendid being beside me. "He made me do cartwheels and splits. He made me do my high wire routine, and when I fell, he made me do it again with more weight, over and over again. By the end, my body was beaten and fatigued, but my mind rebelled. I wouldn't let him break me like a horse." She said the final statement with a conviction I had only heard once before, from my own lips. If Reyad was still alive, I would have tortured him for days before ending his misery in the most painful way I could think of. I would hurt him like he hurt this beautiful creature before me. Everyone saw a butterfly, but I saw the snow cat beneath. Glorious, but deadly, she was unstoppable. My snow cat! _No_, _not _my_ snow cat_.

"The next year went by smoothly, no major disobedience on my part. I hoped that he would stop harassing me, if I was good. I obeyed his orders and answered his questions to his satisfaction, but when the Fire Festival came again, I could not stay away. I didn't care if Reyad beat me again, as long as I got to compete. I had scavenged for weeks to make my costume. I had feathers and sequins and a contraption with wings. The wings were bright crimson." I imaged her in those wings, a great bird soaring high, "I did get to compete, because Reyad was busy with a possible suitor. I made it through the first five rounds without a quirk. My fear and rage and exhilaration fueled my routine and soon I was flying. In my final tumbling routine, I opened the wings on the final air born summersault. They made a huge impact. I won the fire amulet on my necklace, but I was spotted by Reyad. I buried my amulet and was dragged home. Brazelle gave up on me that night and gave me to Reyad as a toy. I was knocked out and woke up tied to his bed. He waved his journal in front of my face, and he made me read it. It had all the disobedient and stubborn digressions and his incredibly imaginative punishments for each. He announced, 'We'll start with page one tonight.' It stated that he would make me lay on my hands and knees in a submissive position while he whipped me. After each lashing, I was to respond, 'Thank you, sir, more please, sir.' Then he would proceed to rape me, and I would address him as 'sir' during the entire ordeal." I stifled a gasp. This Reyad did not deserve the quick and easy death that Yelena gave him. A slit throat was nothing compared to what I would have done to him. The evil bastard! He would have burned, if I had had a say in it. Shit, Yelena was crying.

"Yelena, he is gone now, the bastard is dead and he can't hurt you anymore," I tried to console her in this knowledge.

Sobbing, she responded, "But he can, he can haunt me to the end of my days. He already does."

"Force him away. Maybe not now, but when you gain the strength to push him away, you can. He hurt you so badly; you were definitely in your rights to kill the son of a bitch." How could she fear the ghost as much as the man? The man must have been horrible to her if she expected his ghost to hurt her.

"Then, when I refused, he forced me to my knees. He chained my hands behind my head and retrieved the whip. I was terrified of what he might do to me, but he simply gave me one lashing. He kicked me, when I didn't say my lines. I responded quickly after that, knowing that if I didn't he would only hurt me more. I soon passed out. When I woke up, his hand was on the inside of my thigh, and he said, 'Now, let's start page two.' No, I thought. I lunged toward the knife that I had hidden last year after he had beaten me during the Fire Festival. I had hidden it under his mattress because I somehow knew that when I would need it, I would be in Reyad's room. When I reached it, I thought briefly of ending my own life, but then, he grabbed my leg. I slashed at him with the knife. At first, I made only a surface cut, but soon, I was on top of him, and there was a gaping wound in his throat. I was dragged off of him and thrown down her. I was convicted of murder and was sent to the Commander's dungeons. That's where you found me." Indeed, it was. I was glad that I had kept her in the dungeon to be food taster, because now I knew her, and what had happened to her, and how I could help her. I had fallen in love, and anything could have happened in that moment—I could have been hanged—but I didn't care, because I got her, and she had told me her story, and she trusted me enough to confide her life to me, and she might love me. I remembered her pleasure when I had said _our_ suite, and that's when I knew. Our love was mutual and unlimited; even if we died here, I would die a happy man. If she died I knew I would as well, just as surely as I knew that the temperature would drop in the cooling season. I had found my one true soul mate, my heart mate, my love for life. I knew I could not live without her.


End file.
